Sam Uzochukwu

Sam Uzochukwu is a Nigerian academic and expert on Igbo oral poetry.[1]

Life

Sam Uzochukwu was born in 1940 at Ebenator, Nnewi South Local Government Area, Anambra State, Nigeria. After his B.A. Degree in English Language from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife (1966), he branched off to Igbo Studies, being aware of the need to explore this hitherto neglected area. Uzochukwu received his PhD from the University of Lagos in 1981 for a thesis on Igbo oral literature.[2] He stayed at the University of Lagos, rising to become a Professor and Head of the Department of African and Asian Studies.

He has worked to collect and document Igbo oral poetry, particularly funeral dirges, and published both creative and critical work in Igbo.[1] A Festschrift for him was published in 2008.[3]

Prof. Sam Uzochukwu was the first Professor in the entire Mbanese —which is a general name for a conglomerate of five (out of ten) communities that make up Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State. These communities are Ebenator, Ezinifite, Akwaihedi, Osumenyi and Utuh. In 2019, Prof. Sam launched a Tertiary Education Foundation, and also unveiled his autobiography entitled A Single Palmnut [4]

Works
  • Mbem Akwamozu [Funeral Dirges], 1985
  • Akanka, Na Nnyocha Agumagu Igbo [Criticism of Igbo Poetry], 1990
  • Abu Akwamozu [Songs of Mourning], 1992
  • Traditional funeral poetry of the Igbo, 2001
  • Traditional birth poetry of the Igbo, 2006
  • A Single Palmnut, The Autobiography of Prof. Samuel Udezuligbo Uzochukwu, 2019.

References
  1. Ernest Emenyonu, "Ugochukwu [sic], Sam", in Simon Gikandi, ed., Encyclopedia of African Literature, Routledge; 2002. ISBN 978-0-415-23019-3. Online version
  2. 'Traditional Elegiac Poetry of Igbo: A study of the major types'. PhD Thesis, University of Lagos, 1981. See Helen Chukwuma, Igbo oral literature: theory and tradition, 1994, p.9
  3. Iwu Ikwubuzo, Chinyere Ohiri-Aniche and Chigozie Nnabuihe, eds., Udezuluigbo: a festschrift in honour of Sam Uzochukwu, 2008. ISBN 978-978-087-382-0.
  4. Izunna Okafor "Mabnese 1st Professor Launches Edu. Foundation, Unveils Autobio", The Nigerian Voice 17 October 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.


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